Stephen LaRoque - Guilty on all 12 charges

GREENVILLE — According to his attorney, former state Rep. Stephen LaRoque believes he’s innocent.

The jury in his trial thought otherwise.

Friday morning, jurors unanimously voted that LaRoque was guilty of illegally taking money from his economic development nonprofit — East Carolina Development Company — using that money, concealing the theft, knowingly lying to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and committing tax fraud by not properly reporting the money.

“He was sad, and shocked, but he was very gracious,” LaRoque attorney Joe Cheshire said of his client. “And you know that really says a lot about the core of a man or a woman when you’re in that spot.”

U.S. Attorney Thomas Walker said the evidence led to the conviction.

“The only comment that I will make is that we felt strongly that the evidence would prevail in the case, and that the jury obviously agreed,” Walker said.

LaRoque didn’t show much emotion as the verdict was read, and Cheshire said afterward that his client didn’t express any anger or bitterness following the verdict.

According to the Associated Press, the former lawmaker faces a maximum penalty of 96 years in prison and $3 million in fines.

“This was a significant case, and the evidence was complex, but at the end of the day, it really boils down to was there theft and misappropriation of money,” Walker said. “And at that point, the case got much simpler in that vein.”

A federal court security officer escorted LaRoque — who was silent and poker-faced — from the courthouse as the pair walked quickly, but deliberately, to LaRoque’s vehicle while media members attempted to get him on camera.

“I think his plans are now to go home and be with his family, and get his affairs in order, and get ready to have a little bit of a life change,” Cheshire said. “I think Stephen’s changed a lot during this process, and I think it’s been a good change. He’s a very mature guy, and he’s an accepting guy.”

Sentencing is set for Sept. 10. LaRoque could have been taken into government custody, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Duffy said he wouldn’t object to LaRoque continuing to remain free on bond until the sentencing hearing.

“He’ll be looking for an active prison sentence under the way the federal sentencing guidelines are structured,” Cheshire said. “We’ll be fighting over what that is. I don’t have expectations about it.”

Under conditions imposed pre-sentencing, LaRoque must hand over his passport and can’t leave the administrative area of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina without the prior approval of a probation officer.

LaRoque has 14 days to appeal the conviction.

“We’re going to be working on post-verdict motions and I feel quite sure that we will appeal,” Cheshire said. “There are some interesting legal issues in this case, and I imagine we will appeal, but we’ll make those decisions later today.

“It’s a hard day, and we’ve got to get over that, step back a little bit and rethink where we are, and not react just on emotion.”

Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wes.wolfe@kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at WolfeReports.

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